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Just installed ZorinOS 10 (64bit) on a 1TB 2.5" external HDD, booting from a DVD on a Laptop running Windows 7.

- This is not possible with Windows! It would not even install on an External Device !

Please Note:

Using a 64-bit Operating System means it also needs a 64-bit CPU on the PC it is being used.
If you are not 100% sure where you will be using it, please install the 32-bit Version, to make sure you can even use it on older hardware !!
If there is a sped problem you can even use the Lite Version which should run faster on older hardware and is less resource-hungry.

The Drive was partitioned as follows:

Partition 1:

Operating System

160GB

Linux/Ubuntu partition, Ext2

Partition 2:

Swap Space

32GB

Linux/Ubuntu partition, Ext2

Partition 3:

Data Space

802GB, being the rest

NTFS partition

ZorinOS sees everything inclusive the Windows partitions of the Laptop, when booted from USB.
Booting Windows 7 from the PC and then connecting the external (ZorinOS 10) HDD, Windows only sees the Data partition !

This enables him to copy data to the other system as he wants and can also use it as a 'backup' of some kind !
- This is exactly what I wanted for the task at hand!

Option 1 - Booting from Windows:

Just switch on the PC/Laptop, as usual, then connecting the external HDD.

Option 2 - Booting From Linux/Ubuntu/ZorinOS:

Connect the external HDD (and switch it on, if it has an external power source), then switch on the PC/Laptop, it will boot from the external HDD/Device.

- The installation was not so straight forward and I just had to find the right buttons and ways to partition and format the partitions correctly !
But then it all fell in place !

Optionally you might also want to TEST various Linux Distributions, which ones suites you best!

I would therefore suggest to use Micro-SD Cards, anything from 8GB would do (Just for testing even from a 2GB and a 4GB). If you intend using it longer I would recommend a 32GB or higher, which can easily be reused after TESTING, just saving files needed and reformatting it for use in a Camera, Cellphone or Tablet PC.
Using a Micro USB Adapter from Kingston this is a very flexible Option as it can go directly into an open USB Port and is very compact. For use in larger devices you can still use an SD Card Adapter, too.